CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Makes New Investment in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,050 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gries Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter worth $237,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 220.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 2.7% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,536 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter worth $698,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter worth $203,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $237.54 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $248.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.58. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The firm had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.11.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,121,680.16. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Company Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.